Numerous electrically operated fishing reels have been provided in prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,561,695 to Wood, Jr.; 4,515,324 to Baron; 4,598,878 to Stiffen; 4,784,346 to Stiffen; 5,156,351 to Cittadini; and 5,556,047 to Nanbu all are illustrative of such prior art. While these units may be suitable for the particular purpose to which they address, they would not be as suitable for the purposes of the present invention as heretofore described.
The Wood, Jr. U.S. Pat. No. 3,561,695 discloses an electric fly reel. An electric fly reel having a handle for rotating the spool in a conventional manner to reel in a fish and a miniature electric motor for rotating the spool with sufficient torque to reel in slack in the line. The motor is powered by a plurality of small pen cell batteries mounted on the reel.
The Baron U.S. Pat. No. 4,515,324 discloses a battery powered fishing reel. A portable hand held type fishing reel having a motor operably connected with the spool member of the reel for facilitating winding of the fishing line onto the spool without interference with the normal operation of the fishing reel, the motor being operably connected with a switch by a battery pack which may be remotely disposed with respect to the reel, a drive assembly connected with the spool member and selectively operable upon energization of the motor for winding of the line onto the spool, the drive assembly including a pivotal lever having a normal position wherein the drive connection between the motor and spool is disengaged and selectively movable to provide an engaged position between the motor and spool, the lever being particularly designed whereby the driving engagement between the motor and spool is achieved prior to energization of the motor to substantially preclude accidental damage of the engaged driving elements.
The Stiffen U.S. Pat. No. 4,598,878 discloses a motorized fishing reel. A rotatable drive output is provided for a fishing reel and has a connecting gear for establishing a rotatable connection between the fishing reel spool shaft and the drive output. This drive connection is provided at the end of the reel opposite from the manually operating handle and is operably connected to an electric motor mounted on the reel or in a remote location with a flexible cable drive. In some embodiments, a micro switch is mounted on the reel body and is associated with a manually operable pivotal lever capable of operating the switch in an arrangement which causes engagement of the gear output and connecting gear prior to closing of the switch. In another embodiment, a fish line spool of the reel is provided that is hollow and the electric drive motor is supported in the hollow portion of this spool.
The Stiffen U.S. Pat. No. 4,784,346 discloses a motorized fishing reel. A fishing reel body with a fish line spool has an electric motor assembly mounted thereon having a circuit operated by a control level. This lever extends between opposite ends of the reel body and has a finger engaging portion extending outwardly for manual engagement by a fisherman. The lever has a first position wherein the finger engaging portion extends outwardly radially from the fish line spool. This first position comprises a de-energized condition of the motor. The lever has a second position wherein the finger engaging portion is angled upwardly relative to its first position. The second position comprises a locked-on energized condition of the motor. The lever also has a third position wherein the finger engaging portion is angled downwardly relative to the first position. This third position comprises a manually held energized condition of the motor. A switch in the circuit and the motor assembly are arranged such that the drive output gear of the motor and a drive receiving gear of the fish line spool are engaged prior to closing of the switch.
The Cittadini U.S. Pat. No. 5,156,351 discloses an electric fishing reel. An electric fishing reel is disclosed, comprising a case whose wall has at least one opening through which passes a mechanical connection connecting at least one controlled member and one control member together, disposed respectively on each side of the wall, sealing means being provided for sealing the passage of the mechanical connection through the opening. According to the invention, the sealing means are formed by a piece of resilient deformable material providing at least a spring function for the mechanical connection.
The Nanbu U.S. Pat. No. 5,556,047 discloses a motor operated fishing reel. A motor output regulator for increasing and decreasing the output of a spool drive motor in multiple continuous stages is rotatably provided, in a motor-operated fishing reel equipped with a spool drive motor, on the same side of the reel body where a manual handle for manually driving the spool to rotate is installed. The direction in which the output of the motor is increased by the motor output regulator is set equal to the direction in which the fishing line is wound up onto the spool by the manual handle. The motor-operated fishing reel is excellent in operability in that while both sides of the reel body is gripped, the output of the motor can be made variable to adjust its speed. It is also possible to simultaneously perform both winding-up operation by the manual handle and speed change operation by the motor output regulator with a single hand.